All This Time
by 0ne.w1sh
Summary: Danny Desai returns to town and finds romance with one of his old best friends, Jo. RATING CHANGED TO M FOR CHAPTER 15
1. Chapter 1

**All This ****T****ime (A **_**Twisted **_**Fanfic) by: one.w1sh**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Twisted **_**or any of the characters from it. How I wish I did.**

**Chapter 1**

I got out of my dad's car, hunkering down against the rain and pulling my bag over my shoulder. Rico caught up to me as I fought my way through throngs of people, talking in hushed voices, who didn't seem to care that it was raining.

"Rico! Hey, can I borrow your math book for 3rd period? I was studying last night and left it at home—"

"Yeah. Hey Jo?"

I looked up.

"Isn't he that guy you used to hang out with in middle school?" he asked, nodding towards an olive-skinned, long haired guy who was coming towards us.

"Oh my god, is that—?" I gasped. And indeed it was. Danny Desai was my best friend from the minute I was born until the minute he was taken to juvi for strangling his aunt with a jumprope when we were eleven. He hadn't sent me a single letter since he was there, which surprised me, but I figured he would be relocated after his five-year sentence was up anyways, and maybe he didn't want to make leaving any harder than he had to.

But now, he walked right up to me as if we'd never stopped talking at all.

"Jo!" he grinned, putting his hand on my shoulder. I didn't say anything. "You are Jo, right? I mean, you've changed a lot, but I'd recognize the hair anywhere."

I shook my head. "Hi, Danny." Rico cleared his throat, so I said, "Oh, and um, this is Rico." They shook hands, Danny smiling, but Rico looking extremely awkward.

"Listen," Danny said, turning towards me again. "I dunno how I'm gonna adjust here without any friends, so can you save me a seat at your lunch table?"

Rico laughed. "There won't be much saving going on, we're not exactly the popular table."

"Well I mean, what about Lacey and that guy that's all over her?" Danny asked, looking past us, where Lacey and her jock boyfriend Archie were making out under the shelter of a tree.

I tucked my hair behind my ear and said, "Um, Lacey doesn't sit with us anymore."

I didn't want to explain, but Danny didn't take the hint, and asked, "Why?"

"After you left, we kind of just stopped talking and…" I trailed off.

"And then she met me, so things actually took a turn for the better," Rico said, slapping his arm over my shoulders. "It's good to meet you though, man. Come find us at lunch."

"We'll be the loners in the corner," I said, trying to smile, as Rico guided me away.

Danny didn't come to our table at lunch, but after school, I went to the bakery where Rico and I always did our homework. Rico had a dentist appointment, though, so I sat at our normal table alone. I was in the middle of a very complicated calculus problem when someone slid into the booth across from me.

I looked up to see Danny. "You scared me," I said, blushing.

"Didn't mean to," he said. He was quiet for a minute while I finished the problem, and then asked. "Do you do this every day?"

I shrugged. "I don't have anything else to do."

"Well, maybe I'll start joining you."

"No, don't, you should get some friends that know how to have fun."

"The Jo I remember _loved _having fun."

"That was five years ago, Danny. Trust me, I'm boring."

"Maybe," he said, grinning, "But you're the only person who's talked to me, and not about me, all day. I'll take what I can get."

I looked up and was slightly alarmed at the way he was staring at me. Was he planning to murder me too?

He looked down awkwardly. "I don't mean to stare, but you've—" he cleared his throat. "You've gotten really pretty, Jo."

I blushed again, deeper red this time. "You're not as ugly as I remember you," I said, which was as close to a compliment as I could get.

He laughed. "Now we're talking! Hey, listen, that Regina girl invited me to a party at her place, and I don't really want to show up alone. Will you go with me?"

I put my pencil down at crossed my arms on the table. "What, no flowers?"

"I was planning on ripping some out of her garden on the way there," he told me, with so serious of a face that I wondered if he was joking or not.

"I've never been to a party," I admitted.

"What, and you think I have? Well, besides the parties in the killyard, oh, those are fun."

I raised my eyebrows. "I guess I'll go with you then. But I don't drink," I warned him. "Or drugs."

He nodded. "I won't open my jacket then. I've got all the best stuff, you tell your friends." He ran a hand through his shoulder-length, dark brown hair and said, "I'll pick you up at seven."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted or any of the characters from it.**

**If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to tell me! :D ~one.w1sh**

**Chapter 2**

I'd had a hard time deciding what to wear, but I'd finally put on a dark green dress with lacy sleeves. I'd been planning on straightening my hair and putting on makeup, but I'd barely zipped up the dress when the doorbell rang.

Danny was dressed in the same clothes he'd worn at school, which made me feel overdressed and, if possible, even more awkward than I otherwise would have.

"You look nice," he said, smiling.

I peered around him, looking for the car, but the street behind him was empty. "Where's the car?"

"Oh," he said, scratching his neck. "I don't have a car."

"It's okay, we'll walk," I said. "Let me just lock up the house. Once I was done, I slid the key under the doormat.

"Your parents won't be mad, will they?"

"Who cares," I said. "I have to have at least one story for my grandkids."

Regina's house was the biggest one on the block, and even if it hadn't been, it would have been very difficult to miss. All the doors were open, with people and the smell of alcohol all pouring out of it.

As soon as we walked in the door, everyone went completely silent and stared at us, the mouths of the drunk people literally falling open.

"No, no, continue partying!" Danny said loudly, waving an arm, and everyone slowly turned back to their conversations. "You can ditch me now, if you want," he told me softly.

"It's not like I'm friends with anyone else here," I sighed.

"Finally something in common," he said, and guided me towards the drinks table.

"Do they have anything without alcohol?" I asked as Danny picked up a glass and smelled it, then set it back down looking offended.

"I don't know, but don't drink that, whatever it is. Smells horrible."

"Why can't parties ever just have fruit punch anymore?" I grumbled. "It's like everyone forgot how to have fun unless they're buzzed."

"You know, we might be the very last people alive who remember how."

"I don't know how to have fun at all," I reminded him.

"Aw, yes you do. But this party's kind of lame. I bet you we'd have more fun just the two of us."

I shrugged. "What are we gonna do, though?"

"I have fruit punch at my house," he suggested.

I must have looked suspicious, because he said, "We'll just watch a movie or something. My mom's home, and trust me, Jo, you'd be the last person I'd ever want to murder."

"Comforting, Danny," I said sarcastically, but I let him take my hand and pull me out the front door.

"Leaving already?" Regina said, appearing out of nowhere, her lips pouty. "You just got here!"

"Well the host didn't even bother to say hello when we arrived," Danny said. "And it's just a bunch of drunk people trying to stay standing."

"Well then maybe you should drink a little bit, and we can be two drunk people laying down," she said with a smirk.

"No thanks," he said, and with that we were out the door, shutting it behind us.

The way Danny had taken my hand at the party had been the kind of hand-holding that meant, 'come on, let's get out of here.' But as we walked through the increasingly quiet streets (the farther away from Regina's house we got, the quieter the night became) he laced his fingers through mine. I wasn't entirely sure what that kind of hand-holding meant, but I could tell it was more than friendly.

He didn't say anything, and neither did I. So we walked, for what seemed like forever, our arms swinging between us, in a comfortable silence all the way to his house.

We entered his house, which smelled just how I remembered it, of vanilla and cinnamon. His mother appeared in the entryway to the kitchen, a glass of wine in her hand. "Danny, you're home. And who's this?"

"This is Jo," he said, squeezing my hand. "You remember her, don't you?"

His mother's eyes widened. "Of course! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, it's just that you've grown up a lot, and, well…" she looked down at her wine glass.

"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Desai," I said, looking up at Danny. He was almost a full head taller than me.

Danny let out a breath and said, "Well, mom, we're gonna watch a movie upstairs."

"You two be careful," she said. I didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but I let it slide.

He led me up the dark staircase and into his room, which was also exactly as I remembered it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted or any of its characters :(**

**A/N: I don't know where this is going, I'm gonna try to keep updating as the episodes come out & follow the storyline for the most part.**

**Chapter 3**

"So, how's your mom been?" I asked, because I couldn't think of anything else to say.

He picked up a picture of him, Lacey and I when we were younger. "She has too much to drink sometimes," he said simply. "Look how happy we were."

I looked closer at the picture. It had been taken the same day as the incident. Lacey and I were sitting on the swings, and Danny was holding one of the ropes on each of our swings. A thought crossed my mind about how he really seemed to like ropes, but I pushed it away.

He grabbed the TV remote and lay back against the pillows. I stayed sitting cross-legged near the foot of the bed and asked, "What should we watch?"

He ignored my question and said, "Come here."

I turned around and said, "What's it about?"

He cocked his head to the side, but didn't say anything. I think that's what made me move closer to him. I laid my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arm around me, and for a minute we just sat there in the almost-dark room, cuddled together, fitting perfectly.

Then, out of nowhere, he kissed the top of my head and said, "I really missed you."

For some reason I couldn't think of an appropriate response, because 'I missed you too' didn't seem fitting. So I reached for the remote, taking it gently from his fingers and pressing the power button.

"I did, though," he continued, his voice soft. "I thought about you and Lacey every day. Mostly you."

"I missed you too," I said finally.

"I kept seeing your eyes," he admitted. "I kept wondering what they'd look like when I finally met you again." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Beautiful as ever."

I flipped through the channels until I found one that was playing an old movie the three of us used to watch, and set the remote on the bed next to me, settling in even closer to him. All of a sudden I felt like I couldn't get close enough.

He started twirling his fingers through my hair, and I closed my eyes, realizing how happy I was he had finally come back. My reputation would be completely ruined if I kept hanging out with him, but it's not like it was that great to begin with. The only true friend I had was Rico, and I knew he wouldn't care that I was now associating with a psychopath.

"Jo?" he asked, and my eyes fluttered open. "Are you sleeping?"

"No," I yawned, and started to sit up. "I should probably get home."

"Stay," he whispered, pulling me back towards him.

I twisted slightly until I could see him. "Danny, we just met like 12 hours ago—"

"Actually we met about 15 years ago," he reminded me. "Can't we just pick up where we left off?"

"What, and pretend nothing ever happened?" I sighed. "I'm trying to forget, Danny, I'm trying. But I just don't know if it's possible to forget this fast."

"I understand. Take your time. But please stay."

"Danny—"

"It was terrible trying to sleep by myself last night. I felt so lonely, and it was too dark. I mean they kept the lights on all night, so we couldn't pull anything, and I just got used to it, and now it's hard to sleep in the dark."

"Don't you think things are moving a little fast?" I asked him. "We just met, and already we've held hands, and been partying, and watched a movie together alone in your room…"

"You can't tell me you don't feel it too," he whispered. His hand reached up and rubbed my cheek softly. "You're the one person I've had on my mind for five years, Jo. And I know I haven't left your mind either." And suddenly he was leaning in.

It's hard to say, but I'd never been kissed before. Rico had come pretty close, but then my dad walked in and decided to watch the rest of the movie with us. So I didn't exactly know what I was doing.

He was so smooth at it, though, that he made up for both of us. His hand circled around the back of my neck and pulled me closer to him, and then tangled itself in my hair. His soft, sweet-tasting lips were pressed firmly against mine, and the piece of hair that didn't quite fit in his ponytail was brushing against my cheek.

I had to admit it felt pretty good, and suddenly I didn't care that things were moving too fast, only that I was with him, finally kissing him, and that I didn't feel so alone anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Is anyone else as obsessed with Danny/Jo as I am?**

**Chapter 4**

When I woke up the next morning, Danny's cold fingers were inside my shirt, resting on the small of my back, and our legs were completely intertwined. I lifted my head off his chest and looked around, disoriented for a minute. Then I panicked and reached for my phone, figuring my parents had called and texted me hundreds of times wondering where I was. Surprisingly, they hadn't called me once. The only text I had was from Rico, wondering if I wanted to catch a movie. I felt a twinge of guilt for not responding, but I'd just tell him I crashed early when I saw him at school. Then I panicked a second time and looked at the clock. It read 11:03, meaning we were over 4 hours late to school.

I shook his shoulder, whispering his name to wake him up. "We're late!"

"It's Saturday, Jo," he said groggily, rubbing his hand over his eyes.

"No, it's not," I told him, detangling myself from him. "Let's go."

"Relax, let's just pretend we thought it was." He pulled me against him so we were spooning, his arm draping over my waist, his face nuzzling the back of my neck.

"What about your mom?" I asked. "She'll tell my mom and then I'll be grounded for the rest of my life!"

"My mom is probably sleeping off her hangover right now, and when she wakes up she'll probably think it's Saturday, too." His voice faded slightly over the course of the sentence, and by the end of it he was snoring quietly again.

I decided 11 was too late to go to school anyway, so I let myself drift back to sleep again.

The next time we woke up it was almost 1. "Morning, sunshine," he said, kissing my cheek.

"Don't look at me," I said. My hair most likely looked like a lion's mane, and my complexion couldn't have looked any better either.

"You look beautiful. See, look, the world kept turning while you were sleeping. I bet your parents didn't even notice you were gone."

"Gee, thanks," I said, rolling my eyes and rolling onto my back.

"Well you know, cus if you're home you're just in your room studying, right?" he teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Do you have any food?"

"Forward. I like it," he said, winking, as he climbed out of bed and pulled on a shirt. When had he taken it off? I couldn't help but notice his perfectly sculpted chest, and I could tell he saw me blushing.

He opened the door and walked into the hallway without waiting for me to follow, which I took as an opportunity to look at myself in the mirror he had hanging above his bed. Besides the hair, I looked pretty much the same as I had before I had fallen asleep.

"You like pancakes?" he asked as I entered the kitchen. He'd opened the bag of mix and apparently it had exploded all over him, because when he turned to face me the front of his shirt and his face were covered in white powder.

"Of course I like pancakes, do you know me at all?" I asked, grinning. "And since when do you cook?"

"Hm, they transferred me to breakfast duty about seven months before they let me out. It's not quite enough time to perfect your work, you know?" he said, gesturing to his powdery shirt.

"I still can't believe I just spent the night with a psychopath," I teased him.

"That's a little harsh, but still better than Socio." He grinned.

After we ate, we left the house and walked around the neighborhood.

"So, I hate bringing it up this bluntly, but are we dating?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I don't think you've asked me out, no," I said, looking away. I didn't want to date yet. Sure, we'd spent the night together, and kissed, and held hands, but I still really didn't know him all that much. He could have become a completely different person while he was away, one who was determined to mass murder the whole town, and I wouldn't know it because we hadn't gotten to know each other that deeply yet.

"What if I asked you out?"

"Look, you know that I really like you, Danny," I said. "I just think we should get to know each other a little more before we start dating officially."

"Okay," he agreed. "It's not like I wasn't ever going to ask, but I wasn't going to do it right now. I don't mean this in a douchey way, but I was asking because I was gonna try to restart a friendship with Lacey again, but I didn't want it to ruin what we have."

"I don't like her."

"You used to. You just don't know her anymore."

"That's kind of intentional." He was silent, so I thought for a minute. He and Lacey had never had even the slightest hint of romantic feelings for each other, so I shouldn't have been worried. But I still asked, "Just a friendship?"

He stopped walking. "Jo, I promise you're the only girl that's even on my mind like that. I would not have asked you to stay, or kissed you, last night if I was thinking of someone else. It's just that I want to see if maybe things can go back to the way they used to be with her."

"I guess," I shrugged, trying to act like I didn't care. "But don't be offended if she doesn't wanna be friends. She's got more friends than body cells."

"I don't get offended," he told me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted or any of its characters.**

**A/N: This is my 3****rd**** attempt at chapter 5, I just couldn't decide what I wanted to happen. So that's why I took so long, sorry. Anyways, please review:D **

**Chapter 5**

Danny was sitting with me on the big rock behind the school as I waited for my dad's cop car to drive up and take me home. We were talking about what we wanted to do over the weekend, even though it was only Thursday.

Danny was right in the middle of a sentence when a shadow loomed over us, and we looked up to see Lacey and her best friend Regina standing over us.

Regina held out a piece of paper to Danny and said, "There's another party tonight. This time we're inviting everyone, so I guess she doesn't have to show up uninvited this time." She nodded towards me as Danny took the paper from her hand.

"Thank you," Danny said, but I noticed he wasn't talking to Regina. He was staring at Lacey as he said, "We'll be there."

She met his eyes and smiled a little bit before looking away. Danny had one of those smiles that you can't help but smile back at. And right now I couldn't help but think he was trying to flirt with her.

Regina turned to walk away and said over her shoulder, "Bring something! I mean like beer or something, not a rope."

Danny looked down at his hands. "Those jokes never get old for these people," he muttered, frustrated.

Slightly annoyed, I said, "Well, the last party just turned out _so _great, so I can see why you'd want to go to another one."

"We don't actually have to go," he said, putting his hand on my knee.

"You just told her we'd be there."

"They'll be too drunk to notice, trust me."

"You could've just said we were busy," I suggested. "Not a good idea to start lying all the time."

"It's a hard habit to break," he said, standing up, as my dad's car pulled to a stop by the curb in front of us. "Come over later, okay?"

He bent to kiss me, but I leaned away and tried to pass it off as a joke. "My dad doesn't even want me hanging out with you," I said under my breath. "Don't push it."

That night, it was getting dark as I rang the doorbell to his house nervously. What if his mom answered? I didn't have to worry long before the door opened, and there stood Danny, wearing dark jeans and a gray t-shirt, his shoulder-length hair out of a ponytail for once and framing his face. I could tell I was blushing, so I said, "Are you gonna let me in?"

I was expecting to be led up the staircase, but instead he walked towards the kitchen, so I followed. I let out a gasp of surprise when I saw that he had lit candles on the table and set out two delicious looking plates of food.

"You're not like vegan or anything, are you?" he asked as he pulled out my chair.

I giggled, looking down at the chicken he'd prepared. "This looks really good, Danny."

"My mom didn't even have to help me," he said proudly. "Well I mean, she's not even here, so this could've been a disaster." I imagined him setting the house on fire, or singing all his hair off.

After dinner, we settled down on the couch, but he didn't reach for the remote. It was awkward for a second before he said, "We don't need TV, do we?"

I shrugged. "I guess not." And then he was kissing me, more forcefully this time, his lips crashing against mine. He pushed me down until I was lying on my back and climbed on top of me, not breaking the kiss. His hands were roaming all over my stomach, arms, and legs, but being careful to avoid the "private areas." I didn't know what to do with my hands, so I awkwardly slipped them up his shirt. I could feel his heartbeat, which was so fast it actually kind of worried me. His skin was burning hot against my icy fingers, but he didn't shrink away at my touch.

Then I felt his fingers playing with the zipper on my jeans and pushed him off of me. "Danny," I said, breathing hard and pushing my hair out of my face.

He didn't move his hand, but asked innocently, "What?"

"You know what!" I said, but I couldn't help laughing.

He held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, I get it," he sighed.

"It's not that I don't want to," I said, raising my eyebrows. "But we can't."

Then his phone rang in his back pocket, but he made no move to grab it.

"Aren't you gonna get that?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twisted or any of the characters, and I couldn't even afford to rent it for an hour. :/**

**A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews! **

**Chapter 6**

"No," he said simply.

"You don't even want to know who it is?" I coaxed, as the ringtone got louder.

"It doesn't really matter," he said. "I just want to focus on us right now."

While this remark was sweet, I knew it was only meant to distract me. So without warning I reached around and took the phone out of his pocket. It was a text from Lacey that read, '_What time?'_

I quickly opened the text so I could read the rest of the conversation before he snatched the phone from my hand, which he was trying desperately to do. I don't normally snoop through people's text messages, but something seemed off between him and Lacey.

I only had time to read the last message Danny had sent, which had been sent 2 minutes before I'd gotten to his house. '_Jo's coming over tonight but you can come over after.'_

"Oh," I said furiously, "So I'm only the first girl in the lineup tonight?"

"It's not what you think—"

"No, it's _exactly _what I thought! You get me over here, try to sleep with me, and then as soon as I'm gone Lacey walks in the door for round two!"

"Jo, calm down," he said, so forcefully that I actually listened. "I didn't ask her to come over here to sleep with me."

"You know that's what she's thinking."

"Well let her think it. I don't even want to talk to her, but I need to ask her something."

"Can't you just ask her over text?"

He reached over to tuck my hair behind my ear. "No, no one's supposed to know, so we can't write it in a text message."

"No one's supposed to know what? That she's sleeping with you, not Archie?"

He sighed. "She told me she knew why I killed my aunt."

I was quiet for a minute, and then said, "Well, she couldn't know that unless you told her, so what are you worried about?"

"No, she could know. If she went back into the house after it happened, she'd know."

I thought back to that day. I remember after he came out of the house and we realized what had happened, we'd run. As far as we could. Or had it just been me running? I thought she'd followed me, but then I realized I'd been in our fort alone, thinking Lacey had just found a different hiding spot.

I shook my head. "I don't understand why it's such a big deal that people know the reason. It happened, and nothing's gonna change it, not even telling people why. How about you tell me first, see if the world blows up."

"You don't need to know," he said, exasperated.

"I kind of do," I told him, to which he didn't respond. Then I took a deep breath and continued, "And Lacey doesn't talk to guys unless she thinks she's going to sleep with them later."

"I know that," he said softly, nodding. "That's why I'm acting the way I am."

"Acting like what?" I said shrilly.

He cleared his throat and looked away. "Maybe I've been, um, flirting a little…but it doesn't mean any—"

"If you think you can sleep with her just for information and still be with me, you are _dead _wrong!" I shouted.

"I don't like the emphasis you put on the word 'dead,'" he said, a smile playing at his lips. "Come on, Jo. Do you really think I'd actually do that? You are the _only _girl I want. Just trust me."

"Maybe I could if you didn't make that so _fucking _hard to do! You come back from five years in prison, and you lie and keep secrets and refuse to tell me why you killed your aunt!"

For once, he was silent. I stood up, straightened out my shirt, and walked to the front door. When I flung it open, there was Lacey, her hand up as if she had just been about to knock.

Suddenly Danny was at my side. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Jo," he said, holding the door open.

"No, I actually kind of want to stay and see this," I said, plastering a big fake smile on my face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters from Twisted obviously. If I did I wouldn't be here x)**

**A/N: I said I was going to try to follow the show but the episodes don't come out fast enough…**

**Chapter 7**

Danny sighed as Lacey walked through the door. I could tell he didn't want me there, but if he had nothing to hide then why did he care?

After Danny and I were seated on the couch, and Lacey on the armchair across from the couch, I folded my hands and said, "So, you know why he killed his aunt?"

Danny glared at me. "Forgive her for being so forward. Jo, dear, would you get us some drinks?" He didn't even try to mask the edge in his voice.

"No, I'm fine actually," I said brightly, and looked at Lacey intently, waiting for her to speak.  
Lacey looked down at her hands. "I feel stupid saying it."

"Oh, just pretend I'm not even here," I said, waving a hand.

She shot me a look. "It's not because you're here."

"Well let's just start with how you found out," Danny said. "Start off easy."

"I um…I went in the house. When you were on the swingset and Jo was already gone."

He hung his head, clearly upset. Maybe he'd thought she was just pretending to know, but this made him realize she actually did.

No one said anything, so Lacey continued. "I saw the suicide note that she left. It said…it said she'd killed the maid, and herself, and Danny and his two little friends, both girls, one blonde and the other black. It didn't say why she'd done any of it. But the weird thing was, the letter wasn't finished. It cut off right in the middle of a sentence, and when I went inside, she was lying on the floor with the pen a few feet away from her, and a gun on the table."

I let this sink in, but none of it made any sense to me.

Lacey sighed. "So Danny, I didn't really know why you killed your aunt. I wanted to, though, and I knew the only way to find out was to scare you into thinking I knew. I know this much, so can you please just tell me the rest?"

"Fine." He paused for so long I doubted he was going to tell us at all. Then, finally, he began, "One night, my uncle apparently got home late from work, and she panicked, thinking he was a robber, and shot him in the back of the head. He died, and she ran away trying to avoid punishment. She came here, asking for money so she could afford a lawyer for the trial. My mom wouldn't give it to her, because we didn't exactly have a lot. I don't know if you guys remember, but the three of us were in the house when that argument was going on."

We both shook our heads, wide eyed.

"Anyway, as soon as my mom left the room, she stole the box of cash that we hid in a kitchen cabinet. My mom didn't trust the bank, so that box had every dime we owned in it. The maid saw her trying to sneak out, so she threw the box at her head, and the maid went unconscious on the floor. She told the three of us to go outside, and she went to put the box in her car. Then she went back inside, and I secretly followed her. I saw her pull out the gun and sit down to write the letter. She was muttering as she wrote, and I heard her say she'd killed the maid, the three of us, and then herself. I didn't want anything to happen to you two, so I snuck up behind her with the jumprope and strangled her to death. All the noise she made woke up the maid, and I panicked that she'd turn me in for murder, so I killed her too."

"That's why you never wanted anyone to know," I gasped.

"Because you didn't just kill your aunt, you killed the maid too," Lacey said, strangely calm.

**A/N: I hope that wasn't too confusing. Sorry to leave it hanging again, but this conversation felt long enough. (It will continue in the next chapter though.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twisted or its characters.**

**A/N: Only like 22 hours until the next episode, whoop whoop**

**Chapter 8**

"You guys have to promise you won't tell anyone," he begged. "If anyone finds out, they'll put me right back in prison." Then he looked at me. "This time probably for life, and I can't lose you again, Jo."

"We won't tell," I told him, putting my hand on his knee.

"I can't believe you did it just to protect us," Lacey said, still shocked. "I mean, I don't think she actually would've been able to kill us."

"I was eleven, I was scared," he said defeatedly. "But honestly, I'm glad I didn't take a chance. Five years of being locked up is definitely worth you guys still being alive."

I couldn't help but think that was kind of sweet, in its own twisted sort of way.

"And please don't look at me differently," Danny said.

"Hey," I said softly, "It's not like you did it to be malicious. You were protecting us. And if I can deal with you killing one person, then does another really make a difference?"

"You make it sound like I'm a serial killer," he said, a hint of his usual charismatic self coming back.

"Wait," Lacey cut in, "Why did they never investigate who killed the maid?"

"Well I mean, it was in my aunt's letter that she killed her. I guess they considered that sufficient proof."

"And what happened to the trial for the murder of your uncle?"

"Who could they try, my aunt's dead body? They just buried them both, put me in prison, and washed their hands of it."

"I think I've had enough for one night," Lacey said, standing up and holding her stomach. "I guess I'll see you two at school."

She shut the door quietly behind her, but I cuddled up to Danny. He was so vulnerable, I couldn't leave him alone. He planted a kiss on the top of my head and said, just as I was slipping into sleep, "Thanks for staying, Jo."

"Thanks for protecting me, Danny."

By the end of the next day, rumors were flying about Danny again, and now everyone knew he'd killed not only his aunt, but the maid as well. I hadn't said anything, so I confronted Lacey at her locker after seventh period.

"What the hell, Lacey!" I said, enraged. "You promised you wouldn't tell!"

She wouldn't meet my eyes. "I didn't mean to! It just sort of slipped out when Sarita asked why I was so out of it today. I can't help that she told people."

"This could mean Danny's back in prison, are you happy now?"

She slammed her locker door. "I said I didn't do it on purpose."

Danny appeared behind us. "Which one of you told the whole school?" he said in a voice that sent shivers down our spines.

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't find the right words to say.

"Not me," Lacey said coolly, and pushed her way between us, leaving the conversation.

"How _could_ you! I trusted you! I knew I shouldn't have let you hear that!"

"Danny!" I said, but he was still talking. "DANNY."

He stopped.

"Are you really gonna take her word over mine? I'm the one that's been there for you since the minute you got back, and where's she been? Oh wait, I know. She's been talking behind your back and lying straight to your face, manipulating you into telling her—"

"I don't know whose word I can take right now," he said softly, but not gently. "But all I can say is both of you better hope the cops don't hear about this."

"Please don't threaten me," I pleaded. "I'm trying to help you."

"It's not a threat," he told me. "The last time, I didn't threaten anyone. It just sort of happened."

Was he—was he talking about the murders?

"Jo, I don't think you ever knew this about me. But I have a tendency to turn on people at the drop of a dime. I mean, I told my aunt I loved her an hour before I killed her."

"You wouldn't kill me," I said quietly. "You love me too much."

"Or maybe I'm just very good at mimicking human emotions." With that, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the sea of people in the hallway.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted or the characters.**

**A/N: There were definitely not enough Danny/Jo moments in that episode :( So to make up for it, there's gonna be more fluff in this chapter.**

**Chapter 9**

When I woke up the next morning, my mind was reeling from a nightmare I'd had about Danny coming towards me with a jumprope swinging from his hands, and me trying to back up but forgetting how to use my feet. I couldn't get his words out of my head. "_I have a tendency to turn on people at the drop of a dime._"

I felt sick to my stomach the whole way to school, and was tempted to ask my dad to take me back home, but I wanted to talk to Rico and see what he thought. I decided I'd just avoid Danny today to try to clear my head, because as I already knew, he was very persuasive, and could probably convince me he was just joking. But even I knew that was too bold of a threat to be a joke.

I kept my head down on the way to my locker, just in case I passed by him and was tempted to stop and chat. When I got to my locker, however, he was leaning against it, nervously buttoning and unbuttoning the bottom of his jean-colored button-up shirt.

"Jo," he said gratefully, stepping forward with his arms out, as if to hug me. I stumbled backwards, and he awkwardly drew his arms back to his sides. "I thought you'd just go straight to first period, take every precaution to avoid me."

"I tried," I said, annoyed. I was clutching my books to my chest defensively, and realized I probably wasn't putting off the indifferent vibe I'd been striving for. "Can you please move?"

"Look," he said, staring at the floor. "What I said was way out of line yesterday. I didn't mean to scare you, and please don't take what I said literally. I could never hurt you."

"I bet you would've said the same thing about your aunt, and look what happened to her," I said coldly.

"No," he said firmly. "This is different. I was just mad, and I really shouldn't have taken it out on you. Of course I know it wasn't you who told." He reached over and brushed my cheek softly. "Do you forgive me?"

I sighed. "You're running out of second chances, you know that, Danny?" I said wearily.

"I know." His voice sounded so broken that I looked up, alarmed. "And it's not fair of me to keep asking you to forgive me. But you're all I have. You have no idea how hard it is to come here every day when I know that everybody hates me."

"You have no idea how hard it was after what happened. I had to talk to a therapist for almost a year, but that didn't even begin to make the nightmares stop. Or the staring, or rumors, or jokes. But you wouldn't know that, because you weren't here."

"I know!" he was almost shouting now. "And I regret that more than anything, Jo. I wish I could've been there for you! I wish it wouldn't have happened! But it did, and now my life is even worse than it was when I was in prison, because at least there, everyone had done something wrong! Now I'm here with all these perfect people living their perfect lives and everyone stares like I'm some kind of freakshow, and talks about me like I'm not even human!"

"You think we didn't have to go through that too? Why do you think I'm such a loner, Danny? It's not by choice, okay? I wanted friends, but no one would even talk to me because I was the best friend of a child murderer!"

"But you weren't the child murderer! And you don't have to walk around knowing that you killed somebody! And at least when people talk about you, they're wrong. When people call me a sociopath, and a psycho, and a loser, a freakshow, a good-for-nothing, they are completely right."

It looked like he was about to cry, and although there were still some things I wanted to say to him, I didn't have the heart to keep arguing. "They're just words, Danny," I said softly. "Don't let it get to you."

He blinked hard a few times to clear his eyes of the budding tears, stepped forward, and pressed his lips gently to my forehead. "I love you, Jo."

My heart skipped a beat. It might have been a little early to say those words, but I could tell he really meant them."I love you too, Socio."

"It's almost endearing when you say it," he said, smiling sadly. "Hey, you—you wanna get out of here today?"

I punched him playfully in the arm. "You are just nothing but trouble," I laughed, shaking my head.

He laced his fingers through mine. "I'm taking that as a yes." He started to pull me towards the door, but a sharp, strangely familiar voice spoke behind us.

"Danny Desai, the police department would like to have a word with you."

He froze, but I whirled around, recognizing my dad's voice. I hadn't even noticed the hallways getting more crowded—it had felt like Danny and I were the only two people in the whole world for those few minutes—but now my dad was standing in the middle of the hallway, surrounded by whispering kids. He stuck out like a sore thumb with his uniform, but what caught my eye the most was the handcuffs.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: If I owned Twisted, I'd have a new episode come out every day, because a week is just too long to wait.**

**A/N: Anything you guys want to see happen? PM if there is. :)**

**Chapter 10**

"Dad!" I shouted, stomping over to him. "What are you doing!?"

"Calm down, sweetie. We just need to ask him some questions."

"Then you don't need the handcuffs, and you don't need to haul him off in the middle of the school day!"

"The handcuffs are just protocol," he said, as if I was some stupid child asking time-wasting questions.

"May I ask what this is about, Chief Masterson?" Danny asked, sauntering over casually with a charming smile.

"I'd rather not discuss it here, son," my father said. "Turn around, please."

"Don't use the handcuffs, Dad," I pleaded. "He won't try anything. I'm coming with you."  
"No you're not," he said sternly. "Get to class, young lady."

"Arrest me then," I said exasperatedly, "Because I'm coming whether you like it or not."

Accepting defeat, my father walked us out to his car and sat us in the back seat. He had to talk to the principal for a minute, which gave Danny and I a chance to talk in the car.

I slid into the middle seat and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Everything's gonna be okay," he said, taking both of my hands in his. "They don't have any proof that I actually admitted to it."

"Well now they probably do, aren't there cameras in this thing?"

"It's turned off," he said, nodding towards the front seat. "Right now, it's just some stupid rumor. I'm just gonna deny it completely, and you have to do the same thing if he asks you, okay?"

"I don't like lying," I said slowly.

"I won't ask you to lie again, I promise."

"Promise what?" my dad asked, sliding into the front seat and starting the ignition.

"None of your business," I snapped.

I had to wait in the lobby while my dad questioned Danny. I expected it to be a while, so I started French braiding my hair, which is very time consuming to do on your own hair. I was only about halfway through it when the door opened and Danny came out.

"All done," he said cheerfully, opening the door and waiting for me to leave first.

"What'd he ask you?" I asked, running my hands through my hair to get the braid out.

"Just what you'd imagine. Asked me to tell him again what happened that day, and then if I remembered what my aunt's suicide letter said."

"Wouldn't they still have that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Why did he need to hear it from you?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Do you think they're gonna call you back in again? That seemed pretty short…I mean, my dad's not exactly the type to just let this sort of thing go. He really throws himself into a case, doesn't stop until he solves it."

"I dunno that either," he told me, "But what I do know is that I'm not going back to school. You want a milkshake?"

"I um—I'm a vegan."

"What?" he said, shocked. "You didn't have to eat that chicken then! I asked you—god, I feel so bad now! How long have you been one? Man, I messed up your whole running clock! Do you have to start over now, or—?"

"Chill," I said, laughing. "I'm just messing with you. I'd love a milkshake."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "On one condition."

"What's that?"

"No talking about any of this mess while you're drinking it. Oh, make that two conditions. It has to be strawberry, because I only have enough money for one."

"Strawberry's my favorite," I grinned.

"I think you might just be the definition of a perfect girl, Jo Masterson."

"I'm flattered, but I was gonna give that title to you."

"That's slightly offensive. I'm the manliest man I know." To prove it, he bent down and swept me off my feet, carrying me bridal style.

"No, put me down!" I said, kicking my feet and trying to break his grip.

"You asked for it. Now you're getting carried like this all the way to the diner."

Out of habit, I picked the booth Rico and I always sat at. When Danny joined me a few minutes later, strawberry milkshake in hand, he asked, "Hey, how _is_ Rico? Haven't seen him around for a while."

"Yeah, me neither," I said thoughtfully. "I hope he doesn't think I deserted him. I'm like, his only friend."

"Nah, I mean, he's been the one that hasn't come around." He paused to take a drink. "Just out of curiosity, have you guys ever been, you know, more than friends?"

"Rico and me?" I scoffed. "No."

"Really, why not?"

"He doesn't have a romantic bone in his body," I laughed. "And to be honest, I'd never really given any thought to love until I met you again."

"_Never_?" he said disbelievingly. "You've never had a boyfriend or anything?"

I shook my head and pried the milkshake out of his hand. "Guess that makes you special."

"Yeah, I guess it does."

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"No, but I have an excuse. I've been locked up every second of my life that I've been able to comprehend what love meant. Until, you know, a week ago. And secondly, I'm not good-looking, or charming, or even all that nice, and you know, I've kind of got a criminal history. Not a good résumé. But you? You're beautiful, funny, sweet, and the shy virgin. Guys like that."

"That had the potential to be charming, until you ruined it at the end." I laughed. "But besides that, you're actually all of those things. Good looking, nice, _and_ a bad boy. Girls like that."

"Oh, yeah, well I've certainly got them lining up," he said, laughing softly. "But I don't need a line of girls. You're more than enough."

**A/N: Okay, but seriously, any ideas on what should happen? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: If I owned Twisted I wouldn't be driving a 94 pickup truck. **

**A/N: Thank you sooo so much to Bballislife13 and Craftygirl11 for your amazing ideas! I combined them:)**

**Chapter 11**

The next morning, I decided to stop by Danny's house on my way to school. I rang the doorbell and looked down at the muffin in my hand. I hoped he liked blueberries. Nobody came for so long that I thought he must have already left, but just as I was turning to walk back down the driveway, the door was flung open.

His face was flushed, and I heard the last part of a sentence that his mother had yelled.

"Hey, Jo," he said, smiling. "What brings you by?"

I held up the muffin. "Brought you breakfast."

"Thanks, I love muffins!" he grinned as he took it. "I'd invite you inside, but it's sort of World War 3 in here."

"Oh, well I was on my way to school anyway. Wanna walk with me?"

"We are not finished with this conversation!" his mother yelled from the kitchen.

"I'd love to." He picked up his backpack and slammed the door behind him on the way out.

"What were you guys arguing about?"

"Oh, nothing big. Anything interesting going on with you?"

I shook my head. "My mom said you could come over for dinner tonight, though."

"I um…I wish I could, but I'm not allowed to."

"Your mom won't let you have dinner at my place? That doesn't sound like her."

"It's not her." He sighed. "Your dad gave me a house arrest yesterday."

"A house arrest?!" I shrieked. "Why?"

"I don't know, apparently with this new rumor I'm considered a danger to society again. So I'm only allowed at home, school, and the diner—I argued for that so I could hang out with you and Rico after school. I'm not allowed to have visitors at my house unsupervised either, but that's not for him to decide."

"So he thinks you're a danger to society, but he's letting you stay at school, where there's thousands of kids you could murder? Makes perfect sense."

"That's cop logic for you. I don't think this investigation will last very long though, it's not like there's new evidence. I'm sure it'll blow over within the week."

"Well then do you wanna just eat dinner at the diner?"

"It almost seems like you're trying to fatten me up for slaughter," he laughed as he polished off the muffin.

"Am I that obvious?"

Rico, Danny, and I stayed at the diner two hours longer than we normally would have. It was getting dark, and Rico's curfew on school nights was sunset, so he left around seven. The only people who actually went to the diner were kids from our school, mostly the jocks eating before a big game or the nerds cramming in study sessions. When Rico left, I looked around and realized the only other people in the diner were Lacey, Sarita, Archie, and Regina, who were sitting in a small booth in the corner, sharing a basket of curly fries and having a conversation in hushed voices.

"Wanna order dinner?" I asked, pulling a menu out of the holder at the end of the table.

"Or we could just eat at my place."

"You're not allowed unsupervised visitors," I reminded him.

He slid into my side of the booth and kissed my temple. "I already told you I wasn't gonna follow that rule. Come on. I have blue ranch potato chips."

I wrinkled my nose. "That was Lacey that liked those." I glanced over at the table to see if she'd heard. She had, and was staring at the two of us. I quickly looked down and said, "If you said you had Oreos, I might reconsider."

"Man, no Oreos," he said sadly, kissing behind my ear.

"Danny," I said, embarrassed. "We're in public."

"If I'm your boyfriend in private I'm your boyfriend in public," he said, now kissing my neck.

I rolled my eyes. "You know I meant the kissing." I pushed him off of me.

"Come back to my house then," he said seductively, and pulled me out of the booth. I barely had time to grab my notebook off the table before we were out the door.

I saw Lacey watching us go with an unreadable expression. Annoyed? Jealous? Then she said something to the other three, grabbed her purse, and walked out. She walked quickly to catch up with us and knocked Danny's shoulder, hard, as she passed.

"Watch it," Danny said roughly, and then realized who it was. "What's the rush?"

"That's none of your business," she snapped, whirling around.

"Whoa, okay," he said defensively. "Excuse me for asking."

"You're excused. But I'd rather not see your lips all over my childhood best friend in the middle of a diner. Have some decency."

"Ehh, decency's not really my thing," he shrugged. I elbowed him in the side.

"Obviously."

"You know if I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous—"

"But you do know better. I have a boyfriend."

"Do you? He and Sarita seemed pretty close tonight, and you're out here, trying to get my attention, instead of in there, getting his attention…" he said slowly, a grin creeping onto his face.

She opened her mouth, but Danny said, "And um, you _have _been staring a lot lately."

She narrowed her eyes. "Stay out of my life, Danny."

"You're the one throwing yourself at me outside of a diner, with my girlfriend right next to me." Then he put a hand to his mouth as if it were a secret and whispered, "It's okay if you're desperate, but I'm taken."

"Um, obviously she's the desperate one," Lacey said, nodding at me. "Who would be with you otherwise?"

"She is _definitely _jealous of you," Danny said, turning to me. Then he stepped forward and closed the gap between us, smashing his lips to mine and kissing me heatedly. I heard Lacey stomp away and pulled back.

"Be mature," I muttered as he took my hand and led me in the direction of his house.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: If I owned Twisted there would be absolutely no Danny/Lacey moments. :)**

**A/N: Sorry I took so long, I wrote chapter 11, wasn't happy with it, wrote 12, and then went back to rewrite 11. But here you go!**

**Chapter 12**

The doorbell broke us out of our makeout session. Danny sighed, annoyed, and stood up to answer the door. I sat up and prepared to follow him, but then I heard Lacey's voice and decided to stay and listen.

"I just wanted to apologize for how I was acting at the diner," she was saying."I didn't mean what I said."

"I know. It's always hard for people to be nice to me in public."

"No, but no one else could even hear us. There's no excuse."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I'd invite you in, but…"

"But I'm here," I said, smiling and appearing behind his shoulder.

The smile dropped off Lacey's face. "I didn't know I was interrupting anything," she said hotly, turned on her heel, and stomped down the driveway, before speeding off in her car, which she had left running.

"You're right," I sighed, as Danny shut the door. "She's jealous."

"I was just saying that to mess with her," he disagreed.

"Danny. Why else would she show up at your house at almost eleven just to say sorry? She likes you."

**LACEY'S POV**

When I entered the lunchroom and saw Rico sitting at a table by himself, I did something I normally never would have done, and set my lunch tray down across from him, sliding into a seat. He looked up, surprised.

"I have a favor to ask," I said bluntly. "But you can't tell Jo. Or Danny."

"What's the favor?" he asked slowly, clearly confused as to why I would need anything from him.

"You like Jo, yea? And I like Danny."

"You—you what? What about Archie?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't interrupt. I'm gonna find some way to be alone with Danny, and then kiss him. Then I'm gonna spread a rumor around that Danny cheated on his girlfriend with me."

"Um, so where exactly do I come into this?"

"You're gonna be the one to tell Jo. And then you're gonna kiss her and confess your feelings."

"No." Rico shook his head. "Uh-uh."

"It'll help _both_ of us!" I said, annoyed. I had expected him to cooperate immediately. "And you'll finally get a first kiss."

"You know, if you want someone's help, you probably shouldn't insult them."

"Whatever. Look, I'm gonna do it after school today, so you'll tell Jo tomorrow."

"Nope," he said casually.

"Fine, then _don't_ get what you've always wanted with her. But I'm gonna be with Danny either way."

"I just don't understand the sudden infatuation with him," Rico mused.

"You don't need to." I stood up and went to sit at my usual table.

After seventh period, I waited by Danny's locker and pulled out my phone so I wouldn't feel so awkward just standing there. I was mindlessly scrolling through my newsfeed when a voice shook me out of my thoughts.

"You seem _way _too into that," said a drawling voice that could only have been Danny's.

"Gotta stay on top of things," I said weakly. "Hey, I still feel really bad about the way I acted."

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry about it, I think the meanest words in that conversation were said by me, not you."

I grinned. "Well, I was gonna offer to buy you coffee to make up for it, but you have a good point. I think you owe _me _coffee."

"Oh, I actually have plans with Jo," he said, giving me a strange look. "Thanks, though."

"Oh, that's right, she uh, she told me to tell you she has to cancel. Her mom needed her home for something," I told him desperately.

"Since when are you two on good enough terms to hold a civil conversation without getting in a catfight?" he asked suspiciously.

"I don't get in _catfights,_" I said haughtily.

"Good, because you'd have an unfair advantage with those nails."

"Just buy me coffee," I said, fighting a smile.

Things were slightly awkward on the way to the coffee shop, but as soon as we both had lattes in our hands, we eased up. I tried to avoid the subjects of Jo, the new investigation on the maid's murder, and his time in prison, but there seemed to be little else to talk about.

I finished my drink quickly, looked at the clock on my phone, and said, "I should probably get home. I have a big test to study for."

"Surprised you have to study," he told me as we stood up. "Seems like everything just comes naturally to you."

I blushed as I pushed open the door. I knew he'd offer to walk me home, so I said, "I should probably get going, but it was nice catching up."

Sure enough, he offered. Thankfully it was a short walk to my house, because my nerves heightened with every step I took. Sure, I'd kissed Archie plenty of times, but that had always felt like it was more for show than anything. Actually, that's what our whole relationship had felt like. And since I actually liked Danny, and because there were so many different ways this could all play out, I was contemplating whether or not this was the right time.

He lingered on my porch for just a beat too long, and I knew he was thinking about kissing me. In fact, if he hadn't been dating Jo, he probably would've done it. So without hesitation, I stepped forward and kissed him. Much to my dismay, it only lasted for about 2 seconds, because like a good boyfriend, he stumbled backwards, shocked.

"I um, I have to…I have to go," he mumbled, and practically ran down the driveway.

Infuriated, I went inside and slammed the door behind me. I knew he felt it, so why hadn't he just kissed me back? I pulled out my phone and sent an urgent text to Rico. "_TELL HER ASAP."_

I got a reply almost immediately. "_How did you get my number, weirdo? PS you have way too much invested in this little plan of yours. Be a shame if your partner in crime were to…back out ;)"_

I gritted my teeth. He wouldn't dare.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twisted.**

**A/N: Someone said in their review that I should write a smut scene. There will definitely be one in this story, but I'm not the best at writing them…if anyone would be willing to ghost-write that portion of it, I would be very grateful..(: Just PM me if you are. If not, I'll just write it myself.**

**Chapter 13**

**RICO'S POV**

"I can't believe he blew me off like that!" Jo huffed, angrily sliding into the seat across from me in our usual booth at the diner. "I mean, we specifically made plans to meet up by the rock after school and go catch a movie, and I waited there for thirty minutes and he never showed!"

"Well, maybe you didn't wait long enough. I mean, he probably just went to his locker or something," I said, slightly sarcastically. She threw me a look, so I said, "Come on, Jo! Who waits thirty minutes? Little excessive, don't you think?"

"He said he'd be there," she argued defensively.

"Maybe it's time to break up with him…" I suggested. I would try this route first, before settling for Lacey's plan. She could care less if Jo and I ended up together; all she wanted was for Danny to be a single man.

I'd had a feeling he'd stand her up. Jo had told me earlier in the day about their plans to see a movie, and when Lacey informed me of her plan to get Danny alone, I knew Jo would be joining me at the diner after school. So like a good friend, I'd waited for her there. Even though right now, I was feeling like a horrible friend. I mean what kind of person does this to their best friend—helps her enemy hook up with her boyfriend, then kisses her and breaks the news?

"I know this sounds stupid, but I feel like he's the one. I mean I thought I'd never see him again after he went away, but he came back and we started dating like right away. Some people would call that love at first sight."

I nodded, not really listening. Was I actually going to go through with this? As much as I wanted to kiss Jo, I also knew it would probably result in her hating me for at least a month before things with Danny and Lacey finally blew over.

"…must've had some reason," she was saying. "Maybe a family member had to go to the hospital or something."

"Or maybe he was with Lacey," I said so quietly I was half hoping she hadn't heard. But she had.

She froze, a look of shock on her face. "Why would you say that?"

I gulped. "I uh, I saw them walking out the front doors after school."

She shook her head disbelievingly. "He wouldn't—do that…"

"Believe me or don't." I cleared my throat. "Want me to drive you home?"

She nodded numbly, picked up her bag, and slipped out of the booth.

"Do you know where they were going?" she whispered.

"No, I'm sure he was just walking her to her car or something," I lied. "Why are you so worried about it?"

"Because she was practically throwing herself at him last night! She showed up at his house at like eleven pm to _apologize _for getting jealous that we were kissing at the diner! And I know she would've gone inside if I hadn't been there—"

"Why were _you _there?"

"I don't need permission from you to see my boyfriend, do I?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

This seemed as perfect a time as ever. "I wish he wasn't your boyfriend."

She stared at me. "What's the matter with him?"

"No, nothing's the matter with him. I just…I…" I looked down at my feet, kicking my toe into the dirt. "I like you."

I looked up sheepishly and watched as a flurry of emotions flitted across her face. First surprise, then confusion, then realization, and finally anger.

"You _what_." Her voice was so acidic I could taste it.

I moved closer to her until our lips were nearly touching. Just as I lifted my hand to caress her cheek, and started to close the remaining distance between us, she stepped back and shoved my shoulder, hard.

"Don't you _even _dare," she said furiously, and I watched as her tiny figure receded into the growing dusk.

**A/N: I don't like writing in multiple POVs but I felt like the story would make more sense. Sorry the chapter's short, but the next part is going to be in Danny's POV and I didn't want to make the chapter too long. Okay, review, please and thank you :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted.**

**A/N: Okay, one more different POV and then I'll switch back to Jo's. Hope everyone likes it so far, thanks for reviewing:)**

**Chapter 14**

**DANNY'S POV**

I ran all the way from Lacey's porch to Jo's house, which must have been at least 3 miles. When I got there, I stopped in the driveway for a minute to catch my breath and wipe the sweat off my forehead. I walked the rest of the way to the door with a growing sense of dread. Maybe she wouldn't even ask and I wouldn't have to tell her what happened with Lacey.

The door was flung open before I'd even had the chance to ring the doorbell.

"_What_ do you want?" Jo said fiercely. Then she paused. "Oh. I thought you were Rico."

"What happened with Rico?"

"What happened with Lacey?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest and leaning against the doorway.

"Why would anything have happened with her?"

"Are you seriously gonna try to lie? I waited by the rock for half an hour after school and Rico said he saw you leaving with Lacey."

I shifted my weight uncomfortably. "We just got a cup of coffee."

"Really."

I knew she could tell I was lying, but I nodded anyways.

"If that's all that happened, then why are you so nervous?"

"She kissed me, okay?" I blurted without thinking. I saw the shock register on her face and tried to backpedal. "I pulled away like right as soon as it happened and then I ran all the way here—"

Then she did the last thing I expected her to do—she smiled. "Well I'm glad you said that, because um, Rico kissed me too."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "You said there was nothing romantic between the two of you…"

"I guess we're both liars, then."

"Does that make us even?" I asked hopefully.

"We'd only be even if you enjoyed Lacey's kiss as much as I enjoyed Rico's," she said with a sickening smile before slamming the door shut.

I ran a hand through my hair and tried to figure out what had just happened. My head was spinning. Had she forgiven me? Is that what she meant by slamming the door…? I doubted it, but then again, girls are very confusing creatures.

When I got home, I sat at the foot of my bed and put my face in my hands. I knew I shouldn't have told her the way I did, and I probably should've rang the doorbell and tried apologizing again—wait, had I apologized at all? But I just didn't understand how any of this was my fault. Getting coffee had seemed innocent enough to me, and it's not like I had intentionally stood her up. _And _I had pulled away as soon as Lacey kissed me! And she'd kissed Rico and apparently enjoyed it too, so shouldn't she be the one saying her sorry?

When the doorbell rang, the last thing I wanted to do was answer it. The only person I wanted to talk to was Jo, and I knew she hadn't walked all the way to my house. She would have just stopped me from leaving her porch if she wanted to talk.

The person persisted, ringing it three more times, so I finally shuffled down the stairs. When I opened the door, I immediately wished I hadn't. It was Jo's dad, holding a clipboard in one hand and the doorbell in the other.

"Danny, do you know what this is?" he asked, thrusting the clipboard towards me.

I looked it over. _I agree that I will not go anywhere except my house, school, and the diner on 54__th__ street until the current investigation…_blah blah blah. My sloppy signature was scrawled in blue ink at the bottom, the date printed neatly in someone else's handwriting next to it.

"My house arrest contract, sir," I said, rolling my eyes and handing it back to him. "Did you just want to remind me? I just saw it like 2 days ago, don't worry, I didn't forget."

"So if you didn't forget, then I guess I would have to call it blatant disregard, since I just saw you at the coffee shop on 67th street about an hour ago."

"Are you _spying _on me?" I said disbelievingly.

"No, put apparently I should have been! How many other places have you gone in the last 48 hours that aren't listed on this contract?"

"If you didn't see it happen then I don't have to tell you."

"And I would have to call _that _withholding information from authorities."

"And _I _would call that not incriminating myself."

"My point is," he said sternly. "Consider yourself lucky that I'm in a good mood. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but if I catch you breaking the contract again, I'll have to lock you up."

"I'll just make sure I don't go to any donut shops," I said, smiling sweetly. "And then you won't catch me. Good day, sir."

**JO'S POV**

I laid back against my pillows and angrily wiped a tear from my eye. I felt so alone without either of my best friends. Rico had made a huge mistake trying to kiss me, but if I had reacted differently we would probably just be awkward for a few days and then go back to normal. But now I would have to make the first move and apologize, which I hated doing.

And I know Danny had said he'd pulled away as soon as it started, but he must have walked her home, because it's not like Lacey would just kiss him in the middle of town. Doesn't he know that walking a girl home means you like her? And obviously I was lying about kissing Rico! I couldn't believe he hadn't seen through it. I'd always been a terrible liar, a fact he knew very well.

I was never one to really cry, so after a few tears had slipped down my cheeks, I felt myself drifting into sleep, and welcomed the chance to get away from all these problems, if only for a few hours.

**A/N: I realize this chapter was kind of dramatic, but I have some exciting things in store for the next couple of chapters ;D I'll try to update again tomorrow night. **

**xoxo ~0ne.w1sh**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Twisted doesn't belong to me.**

**A/N: The rest of the story will be told from Jo's POV. And I am not good at writing explicit scenes…but here's my best effort. **

**Chapter 15**

It had been two days since Danny and I had spoken, and I was beginning to think he had just given up on our relationship. I'd seen him around at school, and he hadn't been flirting with Lacey, which was a good sign, but he'd walked right past me in the hallways without even saying hi. I hadn't talked to Rico either, so now my social life was completely nonexistent, and I went home to study right after school.

When I got home I changed into shorts and a tank top, put my hair in a ponytail, and had just flopped onto my bed to study math when the doorbell rang. I thought nothing of it, figuring it was just one of my dad's friends. But when the door opened, I heard raised voices—one of them Danny's.

"Just two days ago I gave you a warning!" my dad was shouting. "_Two days, _Danny!"

My eyes widened and I flew down the stairs. "What warning?"

"Stay out of this, Jo," my dad said roughly, pulling the handcuffs from his back pocket.

"No!" I shrieked. I pushed past him and clung to Danny's side. "You can't arrest him!"

Danny pushed me off of him and said gently, "I'll be fine."

I felt tears threatening to overflow again and said breathlessly, "Rico didn't kiss me, he was about to but I pushed him away and I was just mad that Lacey kissed you but I didn't mean to lie and I'm really sorry."

My dad was looking at us with a weird expression on his face, and then his phone rang. He grudgingly stepped into the kitchen to take the call.

Danny pulled me roughly into his arms. I clung to him, breathing in the smell of his cologne and feeling his chest rise and fall with his heartbeat.

"What were you doing breaking house arrest?" I mumbled into his chest.

"I hate arguing," he said softly. "Especially with you. You're the one person I can trust with anything, and I messed up. I'd understand if you didn't forgive me, but…can you?"

This abrupt ending took me by surprise. Danny had always had a way with words, pulling them out of thin air, always making even the worst sentences sound beautiful. But now it was like he couldn't find the right words to say to fix things, which touched a soft spot in my heart, because that was exactly how I felt all the time.

"I'm afraid I'm going to lose you again," I told him.

"I can definitely escape from prison," he said with his usual confidence. "Last time I just didn't have a reason to."

I shook my head, pulling back from his embrace. "Not necessarily to prison. I just—I'm afraid you're gonna realize you could do so much better than me. There's so many girls like Lacey—pretty, funny, popular—and I can't compete with that."

He put his hand under my chin. "Jo. You have absolutely no competition, okay? You're the only girl I see. You're perfect."

I gave him a small smile, and opened my mouth to say I forgave him, when my dad came back to the door. "I have a murder case that I have to get on right away. I'll deal with you later." He stabbed a finger in Danny's chest and said, "And if you know what's good for you, you'll go home." And then he was gone, running to his car and screeching out of the driveway, the sounds of his squealing tires fading into the distance.

"Can we please stop with all these stupid fights?" I asked in a tiny voice.

"I love you," he answered, picking me up and closing the door behind us. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Where are we going?" I asked, realizing he was carrying me up the stairs.

"Your mom's not home, right?" he asked, ignoring my question.

"No, but—"

He pushed my bedroom door open and set me down on the bed. "I can't wait anymore."

I knew I should stop him, but suddenly I felt the same way. I couldn't wait either.

He crawled on top of me, pressing his lips to mine and pushing me down so he was lying on top of me. His fingers slid under my shirt and lightly brushed my stomach and breasts, sending shivers up my spine. I tangled my fingers in his hair, my other hand cupping the back of his neck, pulling him closer. He broke the kiss, sitting up to pull his shirt over his head. I stared, entranced, at his barely defined abs. Somehow I found this sexier than a 6-pack. He grinned, tugging at the bottom of my shirt, and all of a sudden I felt stupid for not thinking to take mine off as he was removing his.

His fingers reached around and unhooked my bra, and I instinctively moved to cover my chest. He grabbed my wrists and said, smiling, "Stop. You're beautiful."

Then he reached for the button of my pants, and my breathing quickened. Was I supposed to unbutton his? I hoped my room was dark enough so he couldn't see the color rising to my cheeks. I felt him slide my pants down my legs and hook his thumbs through the side of my underwear, tugging that down too. I felt incredibly self conscious, but also excited as he pulled his own pants down.

Then he laid back down, pressing his chest against mine, and whispered, "Are you sure?"

I nodded, afraid I would chicken out if I said anything out loud.

I felt him push slowly into me and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out. I gripped the bed sheets with my hand, and he noticed my tension and froze.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," I breathed. He started pushing again, even slower this time, and after a few initial moments of pain, it started to feel good. I let out a moan, and I don't know who it surprised more—me or him. But he took it as a signal to start thrusting in and out, slowly at first and then faster and faster, until I couldn't help but thrust my hips upwards in rhythm in attempt to get closer to him. One of his hands reached up and massaged my breast, sending electricity through my veins. He was breathing harder now, and I realized with surprise that I was, too. I could feel the pleasure building inside me, and all of a sudden I felt wave after wave of it rack through my body. I wasn't sure, but I guessed he had finished too, because he slowly pulled out, collapsing onto the bed beside me.

Neither of us spoke for a minute, but when he had gathered his breath, he sat up and said, "I should—I should go," and reached for his clothes, which were lying in a heap at the end of my bed.

"Stay," I whispered, pulling on his arm until he lay back down. I curled up against him, burying my face in his warm chest. He kissed the top of my head, his fingers tracing circles on my back. I had never felt so close to anyone, and I felt like I could lay there, cuddling with the man I loved, forever.

**A/N: Soo um I realize that was terrible, but it was harder than I thought it would be and that's like my 3****rd**** attempt so it will just have to do. I'm slightly terrified to read the reviews for this chapter but please review anyways:)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted or the characters.**

**Chapter 16**

One thing my parents have always been good at is respecting a closed door. When Danny and I woke up six hours later, the house was dark and quiet, and no one had come in to check on me. There would have been a scene if anyone did.

I felt cold and realized I was still naked, so I slipped out of Danny's arms and pulled my clothes back on. I knew letting him stay until the morning would be pushing my luck, so I gently shook his shoulder until he woke up.

"Where am I?" he asked, disoriented. It only took him a second to remember, and a big smile crept onto his face.

"It's 11:30, you should probably go home," I told him, handing him his clothes.

"We slept for six hours and no one came to check on us?" he asked, surprised. "My mom checks on me at least once an hour."

"That's a little excessive."

"Well, you know, I _am _a murderer. Can't be left alone for too long." He kissed my cheek softly, stood up, and walked out of the room, looking back over his shoulder as he closed the door. I smiled to myself and slipped under the covers, immediately falling to sleep.

As Danny and I were walking to lunch the next day, Rico rounded the corner and froze in his tracks. Then he cleared his throat, walked up to me and said, trying to be casual, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Danny glanced at me. "Should I be worried he'll try to kiss you again?"

I smiled, giving his hand a squeeze before letting it go. "No, you shouldn't be."

Once Danny was out of earshot, Rico said, "Listen. I know I shouldn't have kissed you."

"_Tried_ to kiss me," I corrected him.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm sorry. It wasn't my idea."

"Then whose was it?" I asked, genuinely confused.

He looked away. "Lacey's. She, uh, she wanted to get with Danny, so she kissed him, and told me to kiss you, so that you two would break up and she'd have him and I'd have you…"

"And you went along with it?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Really?"

"I shouldn't have," he said quickly. "I was just—I really like you, Jo. When I said that, I meant it, it wasn't part of her stupid little plan. And I guess half of me was just hoping that maybe you felt the same way, but just needed something to make you realize it…"

"And the other half of you should've known that I really like Danny, and been happy for me, and tried to convince Lacey that her plan would only end up hurting everyone."

"I know. I'm sorry," he pleaded. "Please, I don't know what I'd do without you, you have to forgive me."

Was he actually begging? "I forgive you," I said. "But Rico, I like Danny. We can only be friends if you understand that and don't try anything else."

"I won't," he said sadly. "Having you as a friend is better than not having you at all."

When did he get so romantic? It was like I didn't even know him anymore. "Okay, well um, I should probably catch up with him."

He nodded and said, "I'll be at the diner after school if you wanna drop by or anything."

I walked quickly to the cafeteria and slid into the seat across from Danny.

"I think this may still be alive," he said, poking at the chicken he'd bought from the lunch line.

"Rico just told me Lacey kissed you and he kissed me so we'd break up," I said, the words tumbling over one another as I rushed to get them out.

"What? Why would they want us to break up?"

"He likes me and she likes you," I shrugged.

"Can't anything ever be simple for me?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Well I'm glad their little plan didn't work," I said.

"At least Rico was man enough to come out and tell you about it," he agreed. "Should I talk to Lacey?"

I shrugged. "I guess."

**DANNY'S POV**

I saw Lacey alone at her locker at the end of the day, let out a big breath, and walked up to her.

"Rico told Jo," I told her.

She whirled around. "I knew I couldn't rely on him."

"I'm not here to tell you to get a better wingman," I said, annoyed. "I'm here to say that I have a girlfriend, and you need to respect that."

"I know you like me too," said, forward as always. "Why would you be with the plainest jane I've ever seen, when you could be with me?"

"Because she's not a stuck up bitch like you are."

"Danny, I don't think you understand. I never make this offer a second time, and every guy in the school would love to go out with me, so you're missing out—"

"Every guy except for one. And if you ever try anything like that again, well…let's just say I didn't really mind the prison food."

"Empty words," she said, smirking.

"Just like last time," I agreed sarcastically.

The smile dropped off her face. "You better be careful throwing threats around like that, Desai. There are ears here that wouldn't mind seeing you gone again."

"I don't think ears see anything," I mused. "And you're right, I think the whole town would sleep more soundly if I were locked up again. But I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't forget I know things that could ruin your life," she told me.

"You've already used them up, though, remember? They gave me a house arrest because of your little rumor."

Her face softened. "Look, I didn't mean for this conversation to get so...vicious. I like you, Danny. I only did all of that because I really, really wanna be with you—"

"Yeah, you always _have_ liked to take everything Jo has, haven't you?" I asked before turning away.

**A/N: Ehh I'm sorry, I lied, I had to switch back to Danny's POV. But now it's flashback timeeeeee**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Twisted.**

**A/N: I'm so sorry I took so long… This is centered around the quote "Yeah, you always **_**have**_** liked to take everything Jo has, haven't you?"**

**-RE-READING CHAPTER 7 WILL HELP IF YOU GET LOST-**

**Chapter 17**

**5 YEARS EARLIER**

Danny crouched slightly to enter the fort, and dropped a bracelet in each of his best friends' laps. They were sitting cross-legged and facing each other, and he sat with his back against the wall, his legs stretched out between them.

"Oh my god, Danny, this is beautiful!" Lacey exclaimed, running her fingers over the dark blue beads and the bird-shaped charm.

"Thought I'd bring you guys back a piece of paradise," Danny said, crossing his arms behind his head. "Wish you could've come with me, but I thought this was the next best thing."

"My parents would never let me go to Hawaii without them," Lacey told him, but Danny wasn't listening.

"Jo? Do you like it?" He stared at her as she looked down at the bracelet, entranced with the way the light sparkled off the white gems.

She looked up quickly, color rising to her cheeks. "I love it," she breathed. "Thank you."

"Want to trade, Jo?" Lacey said suddenly.

"Um, not really, I kind of like this one—"

She reached over, took the bracelet from Jo's hands, and replaced it with her own, saying, "The blue will bring out your eyes."

This brought a smile to Jo's lips. Lacey was the queen of fashion, after all, and Jo was in the middle of her awkward phase, where her clothes didn't fit right and her hair didn't fall right, so she would gladly take any advice Lacey gave her.

"Lacey? Will you come here for a minute?" a voice said, causing all three of them to jump. Lacey lived right next door, and her mother was always sticking her head into the fort without even knocking, so they should have been used to it by now. But there was always the chance that one day the voice wouldn't belong to Lacey's mom.

Lacey sighed, stood up, and said, "I'll be back."

Danny and Jo stood up and leaned against the window, which Danny had carved out of the wall himself, and watched Lacey and her mom disappear out of sight.

"You don't always have to do what she says, you know," Danny said softly.

"She's right, though," Jo shrugged. "The blue _would _look better."

He turned his head to look sideways at her. "I actually thought of you when I saw the white one."

"Am I that pale?" she teased, elbowing him gently in the side.

He laughed and slung his arm over her shoulders, and she leaned into his side. "I'm just saying you should stand up for yourself."

"I can't afford to lose Lacey as a friend. She's the only reason people even tolerate me at school."

"What about me?" he asked, jokingly offended.

"You've been acting a little weird the past few days," she said, furrowing her eyebrows and looking up at him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"It's just stuff with my aunt, don't even worry about it."

When he looked down, there was one beat too long where neither of them said anything, and then his hand was caressing the side of her face, and then he was closing his eyes and leaning in. It was a short kiss, the nervous eleven-year-old type where it's too long to be a peck and too short to be making out. When he pulled away, they stood there looking at each other for a minute, eyes wide, neither of them believing he'd had the guts to do that. They were both trying to find words when Lacey burst back into the fort.

"I can't even believe it, my mom just said we're—" she started angrily, but she stopped short when she saw the two of them standing so close. "Did you guys just kiss?"

Danny opened his mouth, but Jo gave him a warning look and said quickly, "What? No!"

Danny ran a hand through his hair, which was not long or short, but in the process of being grown out. "Your mom said what?" he asked in a tired voice.

"We're _moving!_" she said. "Tomorrow the moving truck's coming!"

"Oh my god," Jo gasped. "How far away?"

"Only like two neighborhoods over, it's the stupidest thing." She raised her eyebrows. "You kissed, didn't you? _You're _as red as a tomato, Jo, and I can practically hear your heartbeat from here, Danny."

Before Jo could assure her that they didn't, Danny said, "Yeah, we did."

Lacey opened her mouth to start yelling, but Danny held up his hands and walked out of the fort, saying, "I'm not getting in this girl fight. I'll be inside."

"How _could _you!" Lacey shouted. "You _know _I like him, Jo!"

"Are you _serious_?" she shouted back. "You've been obsessed with Archie for six months, and now all of a sudden because, god forbid, I like a boy, suddenly you have to have him? I'm sick of you controlling my life!"

"Controlling your life?! You have no idea how horrible your life would be without me. Everyone would hate you at school."

"I know that! Stop holding it over my head!" Jo sighed defeatedly. "Let's just go wait for Danny on the swing set."

After a few minutes of angry silence, Lacey said softly, "I wonder what he's doing in there."

"Eating, probably." Jo rolled her eyes. Danny was in a phase where he couldn't go twenty minutes without eating a full meal.

"Didn't that fight kind of scare you earlier, though?" Lacey asked, picking at the hem of her dark green dress. Before they had gone to the fort, the three of them had been inside playing a board game, when Danny's aunt and mother had gotten into a shouting match about money. It had resulted in a loud boom, and then Danny's mother had told the three of them to go outside.

"I mean, everyone fights," Jo shrugged, twirling a wildflower between her fingers.

"What was that big noise, though?"

"Someone probably just dropped something."

They both shivered, though, because the noise had sounded like a person hitting the floor, not a plate.

Suddenly Danny was standing in front of them, a terrified look on his face.

"I had to," he said, staring past them, his voice sounding haunted. "There was no other choice."


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twisted or the characters.**

**A/N: Holy crap I took forever, I'm so sorry. All I can say is that promo with the Janny kiss better not be a dream.**

**Chapter 18**

**7 YEARS LATER**

I shot up, breathing hard, my mind reeling. That dream came at least once a week and still chilled me to the bone every time. It was so vivid I felt like I was eleven again. I could still remember the way his lips had tasted, the clothes all three of us had been wearing, and the number of petals on the flower I was holding on the swingset—six.

That night was Christmas Eve, so I went over to Danny's parents' house around seven. His mother opened the door, looking tired, but her face brightened when she saw me.

"Oh, Jo, you look beautiful," she breathed.

I looked down at the dark red strapless dress I was wearing and blushed until I was sure my cheeks and my dress were the same color.

"Well come in," Mrs. Desai said. "Danny's in the living room."

It had become our tradition to spend Christmas Eve just the three of us. My father had passed away of a stress-related heart attack three years ago, and my mother had moved to Florida in search of sun to help cure her heartache.

Danny had grown up since high school. He was now the head police officer in Green Grove, something my father would have found extremely ironic. His features had matured and his voice had deepened even further, if that was possible. Otherwise, he was still the same Danny he had been when we were juniors. His dark hair still fell to his shoulders, his smile could still light up a room, and stares still followed him everywhere he went.

He was rearranging the presents under the tree when I walked in, but he turned around when I walked in. I heard his breath catch and he walked towards me, enfolding me in a hug and saying simply, "Wow."

Mrs. Desai entered the room and set a tray of cheese and crackers on the table. "Dinner should be ready in a few minutes," she said as she took a seat in her rocking chair. Her hair looked grayer every day, and there were new wrinkles around her eyes every time I saw her. I knew the stress of being a murderer's mom had not subsided with age.

"Actually, I wanted to do presents first tonight," Danny told us.

"Okay," Mrs. Desai shrugged.

He went to the tree, picked up a small box, and hid it behind his back. Then he took a deep breath, walked over to where I was sitting on the couch, and got down on one knee. My heart skipped a beat, and when he opened the box, it stopped altogether.

The ring had a simple gold band with a huge silver diamond fixed to it.

"Jo Masterson, will you marry me?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly with nerves.

I put my hands to my mouth and said ecstatically, "Yes."

I saw the flash of the Mrs. Desai's camera as he put the ring on my finger and then kissed my hand.

It took a minute for all of this to finally sink in, but once it did, I was the happiest person on the earth. I had been in love with Danny since I was eleven, and now I was engaged to him! I would get to spend the rest of my life with the bravest, most amazing person I had ever met. And suddenly it was like he hadn't left for five years, and he wasn't the child murderer anymore, he was just Danny Desai, my husband.

**A/N: Thank you so much for your support! Please review **** My next fan-fic will be Katniss x Cinna.**


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